Thorntree Press is an independent publishing company and imprint founded in 2013 by Franklin Veaux and Eve Rickert. Based in Portland, Oregon, Thorntree publishes non-fiction about sexuality, love and ethics, especially for non-traditional relationship models. Our focus is on publishing well-written, factually based, sex-positive literature that informs, educates and enriches the reader.

In addition to delivering standards and services expected from larger publishing houses, Thorntree Press also provides dedicated niche marketing support and advice, including designing, setting up and running crowdfunding campaigns.

“Thorntree is a publishing company that’s willing to work with authors in ways big houses aren’t. That means, among other things, helping authors get funded through crowdfunding, helping with publicity, consulting on marketing strategy—all the things big publishers will do for their successful, established authors but aren’t willing to do for new writers.”

Franklin Veaux, co-founder, Thorntree Press

What services does Thorntree Press offer authors?

Thorntree Press is a book publishing company, handling the whole process from manuscript to final book, both print and digital formats. We offer the same high-quality standard services that larger publishing houses provide, including editing and proofreading, graphic design and art direction, and indexing. In addition, we offer consultation on marketing and promotion to all our authors, regardless of the number of books you have published or sold.

What makes Thorntree Press different? Why should I submit my proposal to you?

In addition to providing traditional publishing services and advice on marketing/promotion, we use crowdfunding to help pay up-front publishing costs. The publicity from crowdfunding is useful for discovering and priming our intended audience, thus increasing pre-publication orders and post-publication reach. We work with you to plan, launch and promote your campaign.

What’s the story behind Thorntree Press?

Many years ago, when Franklin Veaux first started thinking about writing a book, he put together a proposal for More Than Two and sent it out to all the major book publishers publishing in the field of relationships and sexuality, and to many book agents. He received a couple of form rejections, but a large number of rejection letters that said, “We aren’t interested in a how-to book, but if you rewrite it as a personal memoir we’d be interested in looking at it.” A memoir wasn’t the book he wanted to write.

Later, when he learned more about how the book publishing industry operates—biased pricing and pitiful royalties, poor distribution support (especially for new authors), nonexistent marketing and publicity for anyone who was not already established—he was glad the conventional publishers had said no.

So from all of this, he and Eve Rickert, his co-author on More Than Two, built their ideal model of a publishing house—Thorntree Press—offering all the support an author needs wrapped in a novel business model to defray initial funding issues.

And this is what they would like to offer you as an author.

What subjects is Thorntree Press interested in publishing?

We are primarily focused on non-fiction, in books dealing with relationships, love and sexuality in non-traditional relationship models. This includes books on polyamory, kink, GLBTQ people and communities, and so on. We are particularly interested in receiving submissions from authors offering new insights on themes of ethics, safety, community and consent with regard to these subjects. Our outlook is sex-positive, and we aim to enhance the reader’s understanding with high-quality, well-researched and readable scholarly and trade publications. We are not considering submissions dealing with New Age spirituality or Tantric sex.

Do you accept submissions from new authors?

Yes, we will consider submissions from unpublished authors. However, you should already be active within your field of interest with an established presence (blog, website, social media, speaking history, or the like). With regard to our crowdfunding model, a successful campaign is supported immensely by a strong social media presence, active blog or website, and a platform of public engagement through lecturing or teaching.

Are you interested in fiction or memoir submissions?

Currently we are only accepting non-fiction. We may accept well-written memoirs, but only if they deal with universal themes of relevance to a broad readership. Your memoir should tell a particularly interesting or unique story, or feature a high-profile person with an interesting life.

OK—I’m in. How do I get your attention?

If you’d like to publish with us, the best approach is to email an outline of your proposal first. We can take it from there. Please do not send your entire manuscript.